Protecting Yourself: Target Stores Security Breach

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MOOSIC - News of Target`s credit breach broke Thursday morning.
Those who used plastic to shop at Target between November 27 to December 15th are vulnerable.

By noon, concerned callers lit up the switchboards at area banks and credit unions like Penn East Federal Credit Union in Moosic.

Customer Janice Winslow of Scott Township in Lackawanna County shopped at target on Black Friday.

"To think that our credit could be compromised, that`s a scary thing," said Winslow.

Federal investigators say the hackers got access to 40-million credit and debit card numbers and expiration dates. That`s information could be gold in the hands of a crook.

"This is completely fixable and solvable quickly," said Katelyn McManamon of Penn East.

Her credit union is telling customers who shopped at Target not to panic.

Penn East says customers they can change PIN numbers on their debit cards, put a temporary block on their credit cards, or even get new card numbers.

But McManamon says most who used plastic to shop at Target simply need to look at their credit and debit card billing statements regularly. She adds, they should look closely at all charges for evidence of theft.

"So these charges may not necessarily be those be those big item charges that you expect," said McManamon. "They may be the five dollars here, the seven dollars here."

"We`ve done everything that we think we should do," said customer Janice Winslow, who has been a victim of credit card theft before.

She's ready if her credit card was taken by the thieves who hacked target.

Target isn't saying how the security breach happened, telling customers that those who bought items online at target.com are safe.

Those who used plastic at one of four brick and mortar stores in Northeast Pennsylvania are vulnerable.

Since companies like Target spend millions on credit card security, industry experts say a theft of 40-million credit and debit cards shows why you should always check you billing statements as often as possible.